Stories

Are you a good story teller?  

Sanford Graduate School has some tips on telling stories by Communication lecturer JD Schramm.

Connect with Individuals

"Deliver one thought to one person in the room," Schramm advised, "and then turn your body and deliver another complete thought to another person. Have that moment. Eye contact is gold in storytelling. The more you can connect and pierce into somebody's eyes, the more you can break down resistance." It's also a good idea to step toward the audience and use hand gestures to illustrate points, rather than stay fixed and frozen in one place.

As in Music, Silence is Effective

"You might use moments of silence to let people catch up with you, or to frame something, like the first time you use a phrase or an acronym. Or you can use silence just to get everybody's attention, "Just a few seconds, appropriately used, can add emphasis to your presentation."

Don't Read or Memorize the Manuscript, Nor Try to Speak Off-the-cuff.

It's much more reliable and effective to memorize a list of bullet points and then practice telling the story over and over again, keeping the mental list as a reference.

Use PowerPoint Wisely

Slides should emphasize photography, illustrations, or charts, not words.

Know Your AIM: Audience, Intent, and Message

What do you want your audience to do as a result of this communication? "Sometimes you have to be explicit and say, 'I want donors,'". Other times you just want the audience to embrace an idea, or re-share the information with others. In any case, he said, "The best thing you can do is share a little bit at first, and have your listeners ask for more."

Use Personal Anecdotes, Self-deprecating Humor, and Accessible Language

Don't try to provide a thorough overview of your organization or focus solely on the tactical, factual sides of your story. Keep technical jargon to a minimum.

What do you think about Fato's story, did it bore you or captivate your heart? 

Hindrance...

Have you ever felt defective? Like there is some part of you that got messed up and now
God could not use you as you had hoped. 

This question hit home because I had failed, ONCE AGAIN, in speaking  truth with love to someone.   As soon as the angry words were out of my mouth I knew I had stepped on the devils territory.  From that point on my thought life took on a destructive pattern with words such as:  you are really not fit to teach a bible study, you cannot control  your mouth.   I am not shocked that I sin, but shocked at how quickly I get defeated over it.  How easily I want to crawl into a pit like a coward and not show my face to anyone.  

Thank God, thank God for I John 1:9  This precious word of truth gives me strength to come out of the pit.  

God used a message I read not to long ago about Nehemiah and the  hindrance he came up against as he served the Lord.  

1.  Neh. 6:1-4, Don't negotiate...that is what Eve did and we know the out come of that.   Ever try to negotiate with God? Wrong way to handle our sin.  When it comes to our sin we blame whoever is around for the reason we acted like we did. 

2. Neh. 6:5-9.  Don't give into intimidation.  If the devil can't take you out of serving, he'll try to scare you out.   

3.  Neh. 6:10-13. Don't fall prey to elimination.  The devil will try to trip us up with our sin and ruin your witness before others. If he can get us to lose our temper, build upon pride or get involved in some questionable business we can be elimination from serving God.  Eph. 5:15-17  Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men or women but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil.  So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.  

4. Neh. 6:15-19 Maintain your supplication. Pray, pray, pray a minute, an hour, when you walk, lie down, ride in your car, You got to have a Holy determined to handle hindrance. You got to have a faith that believes God can help you over come any sin in God's strength which He will liberally give to those who will humble themselves and pray

“Whoever is truly humbled — will not be easily angry, nor harsh or critical of others. He will be compassionate and tender to the infirmities of his fellow-sinners, knowing that if there is a difference — it is grace alone which has made it! He knows that he has the seeds of every evil in his own heart. And under all trials and afflictions — he will look to the hand of the Lord, and lay his mouth in the dust, acknowledging that he suffers much less than his iniquities have deserved.” 

― John Newton,   (Can I get an Amen?)

   

Loving through discipline

A few weeks ago my seven year old grand daughter and I were talking about the discipline  she had received from her Daddy over disobeying him.   I said, you know why your Daddy disciplined you?  She said no.  I said,  because he loves you.  Quickly she said, no, that's not true!  Her little mind  could not comprehend how a spanking and love could go hand in hand. I hope when she is an adult she will understand this truth.  Sad to say, some never do. 


Below is a few points  from Effective Parenting in a Defective World by Don Dinkmeyer, after thoughts in red are mine.  He is speaking to parents about disciplining their children but when I read over the list I thought to myself, if it's good enough for young children it's good enough for this older child of God. 

1. The necessity of discipline: to deter destruction:  (As an adult I understand this principal, that God loves me too much to let me get by for very long with disobedience). 

2.The means of discipline: actions and words . In the Proverbs 3:11 passage that is quoted in Hebrews, two different Hebrew words are used: yasar (discipline), which involves God's actions; and yakach (rebuke), which refers to God's words. Hebrews 12:5 tells us not to make light of God's actions and not to lose heart at His words of rebuke. Yasar refers to disciplinary actions; yakach refers to corrective words.  (God never, ever say something without backing it up with action).

3.The motive in discipline: to express love.  (The more we believe this, the more we sink our life in Him instead of ourselves).

4. The goal of discipline: to teach obedience . When you teach your children godly submission, you're teaching them to do the right thing for the right reason. You want them to get beyond the point where they say "I've got to" and get them to the point of obeying out of love and trust. 
(Exactly what God wants to teach us adults).

5. The result of discipline: short-term pain and long-term gain.  All discipline — not some or even most, but all — seems not to be pleasant, but painful. But there's a process involved; those who have been trained by it yield the fruit of righteousness.  ( I would not trade the times God has had to discipline me for anything.  Those times have  taught me the truth that nothing can separate me from the love of God, not even my own disobedience).

Our 7 year old grand daughter will have to have her own children someday to really understand all the principals of a father and mother who loves their children enough to discipline them.  When she does,  she will thank her Daddy for loving her through discipline.

Final thought:  God does not discipline us to subdue us, but to condition us for a life of usefulness and blessedness. 
Billy Graham